DRAWN OF THE DEAD
Point of no return as Pep blows final chance to peg back Chelsea ..and Wenger looks set to miss out on top four for 1st time ever
THEY were on the ropes, there for the taking – and yet the knock-out blow never came.
Arsenal looked fragile and vulnerable, confidence shot to bits, but Manchester City did not have the ruthless streak they needed to take full advantage of Chelsea’s slip-up 24 hours earlier.
This was a disastrous result for City.
Boss Pep Guardiola looked furious at the final whistle – not least because City were denied what looked a clear penalty in injury time. He knows any hope of catching Chelsea has now gone.
Twice City blew a lead and, even more frustratingly for Guardiola, they could not take advantage of Arsenal’s defensive frailties.
A point was not much good for either side.
City are out of the title race and Arsenal look as if they will miss out on a place in the top four for the first time in Arsene Wenger’s 21-year reign. But after losing four of their previous five league games, at least a draw stopped some of the bleeding for Arsenal.
The mood around the Emirates had been toxic with fans outside the stadium calling for Wenger to go – yet inside the home support was magnificent. Even when Arsenal went a goal down within five minutes the fans stuck by their team – a world away from the bile spewed on social media.
It did look as if it was going to be a cricket score early on.
Kevin De Bruyne’s long ball down the middle split the Arsenal defence, Leroy Sane left Hector Bellerin trailing in his wake, and the City forward rounded David Ospina to score. It was a disastrous start for Arsenal – and could have been worse. De Bruyne hit the post and David Silva forced a brilliant save from Ospina as City threatened to run away with it. But Arsenal deserve huge credit for clawing their way back into the game. And when Gael Clichy played three Arsenal men onside after a corner was only half-cleared, Theo
Walcott forced the ball past City keeper Willy Caballero.
But Arsenal’s comeback lasted all of two minutes.
In the 42nd minute, De Bruyne led a City charge forward. When the ball broke to Silva the little Spaniard cleverly set up Sergio Aguero to fire home from an acute angle.
Arsenal fan Monty Panesar was presented on the pitch at half-time. “Je t’adore Arsene Wenger,” bellowed the former England cricketer. It was probably lucky that most fans were still at the bar at that stage. But, despite Laurent Koscielny going off injured at half-time, Arsenal lifted themselves after the restart.
Mesut Ozil’s corner found the unmarked Shkodran Mustafi, who glanced home a 53rd-minute equaliser. From then on, it was all City. Arsenal inexplicably took off Walcott and lost all of their attacking edge.
Aguero headed wide, had another saved by Ospina, and then ref Andre Marriner waved away City appeals when Nacho Monreal clearly handled the ball as he tried to stop Jesus Navas in injury time.
Frustration all round. But nearly an hour after the game finished, Wenger and Guardiola (left) were deep in conversation in the tunnel. Wenger was animated and talking about how he is still hungry and wants to carry on.
Don’t let anyone suggest differently – he wants to stay and maybe Arsenal’s performance showed he is ready to fight for his future.